Open Letter to the Humans Who Haunt Me

The phone rang but I didn’t answer. It was him. It was her. It was you. I thought the humans expected something from me, not anything of value, just more than I could offer. These people cared about me, and I cared about them, but I didn’t know how to show it,...

Are You Guilty of Hoarding This Valuable Thing?

I married a bone collector. This revelation came to light several months ago when I went looking for a key, opened a drawer and discovered a pile of teeth. It turns out my wife’s been stashing all the pearly whites our kids have lost. Yep, I’m in love with an...

This Is the Worst Writing Mistake I’ve Made That You Must Avoid

I just trunked another draft. Specifically, this was the third draft of my current novel. I loved its first chapter but even it needed to go. A couple friends recently asked if I’m too much of a perfectionist? They asked if I’m judging my writing too harshly? Even my...

Be Thankful (Even If You’re a Robot)

I earned a speeding ticket, went home, and wept. The ticket and tears were unrelated. It was heartbreak that spawned my waterworks. The day was February 19, 2014, and it went down like this… I dropped off my kids at school and started the drive home. Within three...

I SURVIVED the Tribe Conference of 2015

I seek the least amount of human contact possible. But a week ago, I rebelled against my self-diagnosed case of agoraphobia to attend a writers’ conference. This article shall serve as my survival tale of the Tribe Conference of 2015. FIRST CONTACT I landed in...

Is the World Plotting Against You?

Hair was never a good look for me. Photographic evidence recently surfaced when I showed my kids a high school yearbook image. My daughter giggled as my son proclaimed, “Maybe you do look better bald.” While that may be true, I still went into shock when I began...